In the News: US News

Portfolio manager Axel Merk tells U.S. News & World Report the markets don't trust Italy's Berlusconi

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'If Italy wants to get its act together, it can,' says Axel Merk, portfolio manager at Merk Funds. But that will involve massive changes to Italians' way of life. Italy's generous pension system is an example. 'If you work for 35 years [in Italy], you can retire with a pension no matter how old you are. Italy just can't afford that anymore. Changing these things is, of course, extremely difficult.'

The markets have made their distrust of Berlusconi known, but there is no guarantee that a different government would be a better government. According to Merk, Berlusconi may simply be 'the devil you know' to Italian voters and some lawmakers[…]